14Apr16

Nigeria arrests another Boko Haram leader

The Nigerian government said Wednesday it has arrested another Boko Haram
leader after capturing Khalid Al-Barnawi, suspected mastermind of the 2011
bombing of the United Nations (UN) building, early this month.

Preliminary investigations show Bello Danhajia, identified as a close associate
and deputy of Al-Barnawi, was allegedly involved in gun-running, cattle rustling
and other criminal activities, said Abdulalhai Garba, an official of the Department
of State Services (DSS) to reporters in Abuja, the country's capital city, on
Wednesday.

He said a prosecution will commence once the investigation is concluded.

Al-Barnawi was arrested by Nigeria's secret police on April 1 in the central
northern city of Lokoja in Kogi State.

Garba said Al-Barnawi was known for recruiting young people into Boko Haram.

With Al-Barnawi's arrest, the DSS has achieved an "uncommon success" in the
decimation of the group and its leadership, he added.

Both Al-Barnawi and Danhajia were believed to have plotted the bombing of the
UN building in Abuja on Aug. 26, 2011, in which at least 23 people were killed
and 70 injured. It was the first major bombing attack on an international
organization in Nigeria.

The terrorist group Boko Haram, which has so far killed thousands of people in
Nigeria, has claimed the attack.

[Source: Xinhua, Lagos, 14Apr16]

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